India has welcomed the initial action taken by Pakistan against Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) members, but wants Nawaz Sharif to do more. linking talks with Pakistan to its action against terrorists, India has decided to defer the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan to allow it more time to act tough.
In this regard, India has agreed to assist Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that will be visiting India for probe. India will provide JIT more evidence to nail the perpetrators of Pathankot airbase terror attack.
“We welcome the statement by the Pakistan Government made yesterday (Wednesday) on the investigation in Pakistan. The statement conveys that considerable progress has been made by Pakistan. We believe the detention of Jaish members is an important development and a positive first step. However, both sides have felt that some more time was needed. We have given actionable information to Pakistan and hope they will take action. We are looking for credible and comprehensive action from them to bring all the perpetrators of Pathankot terror attack to justice,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Thursday.
Postponing the talks barely 24 hours before they were to be held in Islamabad, India said the decision to defer it “to a near future” was taken after the two Foreign Secretaries spoke to each other. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokerperson said both India and Pakistan do not want talks to take place under the shadow of the terror attack and would like the talk to be constructive.
Saying the detention of JeM members was an “important and positive” step. Swarup added that the visit by the JIT is awaited, and the Indian security agencies will provide all relevant things to them to help them carry out the probe. He said more evidence will be given to Pakistan in due course of time and the National Security Advisers (NSAs) are in touch with each other on the issue.
Interestingly, India is still awaiting an official confirmation from Pakistan on the detention of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar. In Islamabad, the Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Qazi M Khalilluah ducked questions posed to him with regard to Azhar’s detention saying he was not aware of the arrest.
He also did not clarify if the Pakistant Government has given any information to India on the action taken on the leads provided by the latter. “It is expected that in the wake of any terrorist incident the two Governments would work closely to deal with the situation. Our objective is to eliminate terrorism from our region. A cooperative approach is necessary for achieving this objective,” Khalilullah said.
However, Sawrup said while India views the statement issued by the Pakistan on Wednesday on the investigations into the Pathankot attack as a positive move, it will not go by mere “empty statements” but will wait to see action on the ground. He underlined that the action by Pakistan on the terror strike was “in line” with their own commitment to get rid of terrorism.